The
‘con couple’ concept is something
that appears extremely rarely in Indian
cinema, though it is quite commonplace
in Hollywood. And, therefore, any attempt
to craft a film along these lines in Kollywood
will definitely carry the stamp of novelty.
There are very few films releasing these
days that impress with their choice of
theme and Kattradhu Kalavu is definitely
one of them. In fact, this weekend seems
to be dedicated to novelty with Kadhalagi
also impressing by treading on unfamiliar
territory.

Kattradhu Kalavu is about a couple who
want fast and easy money and what better
way to get that other than con people
out of their money. It all begins with
Krishna (Alibaba fame) being cheated out
of an original idea of his by a prominent
person in the society. He wants the rights
and benefits to his idea, but the big
shot is not willing to listen to any of
his pleas. He is left with only one option,
stop pleading and start threatening. But,
big shots are not easily threatened, because

they
already have a ‘workforce’ ready to hit
out for them. So, Krishna has to device a plan that
will corner the big shot. This is where he needs a
partner in crime and he finds one who is just perfect
for the job. Vijayalakshmi plays a young lady who
leaves home because of certain domestic constraints
imposed upon her. She too is in need of money - fast
and easy. With a common purpose, Krishna and Vijayalakshmi
work out a plan and soon they are blackmailing the
big shot with videotapes that they threaten to release
all over the media if he refused to pay up.

Nothing succeeds like success, goes a saying and buoyed
by the success of their maiden outing they decide
to make a career out of fraudulence. Their ‘career’
takes off in a big way and soon there are earning
big amounts left, right and centre without breaking
much sweat. Their confidence soars and before they
know they are blackmailing a minister. What they don’t
realize is that they too have limitations and that
there are bigger sharks in the water which can gobble
them up. The minister, after initially caving in to
their threats decides to settle scores. What happens
next?

The script is the central character of Kattradhu Kalavu
which is one of its strongest points. A racy tempo
is maintained for most parts, sagging only at a few
points. The first hour and the pre-climax portions
are really racy. There is intelligence and plausibility
in each of their conning games. But, there is a portion
where their growth as fraudsters is shown in detail.
Some of the episodes shown there (though of not much
importance to the central plot) seem a bit poorly
conceived and farfetched, especially the scene in
the jewelry shop. Also, the portion where the lead
pair’s romance is focused upon, though only
for a very short while, is a definite dampener on
proceedings. With a few corrections on these fronts,
the script could have maintained a consistent racy
pace right through the length of the film.

The lead pair, Krishna and Vijayalakshmi, has done
a neat job, getting into disguises, changing accents,
behaving differently to cheat people out of their
money. They look convincing as the con couple. This
is definitely a pretty good performance by a couple
who have just above 5 films between them. Krishna,
in particular, shows that playing a petty thief/fraudster
comes easily to him; remember his performance on debut
–Alibaba. Other seniors in the cast include
Santhanabharathi and the Late VMC Haneefa who as usual,
lend credibility to the proceedings. There is also
Sampath Kumar as a police officer; he impresses with
his presence and performance.

Music does not have too much importance in the film,
though a couple of songs do find a place. The ‘Kattradhu
Kalavu’ number has been stylishly shot. Background
score by Sabesh Murali is apt for the kind of movie
that Kattradhu Kalavu is. Nirav Shah has handled the
camera and as usual comes up with a good result. Action
in Kattradhu Kalavu is mostly dictated by the script
and there is no high-flying stuff, just neatly done
fisticuffs and fights.

As said earlier, if there is a hero in Kattradhu Kalavu,
it is the script. Racy, unpredictable, thrilling –
with a few speed breakers here and there (which can
be overlooked). There is enough suspense to keep one
hooked right through. Watch Kattradhu Kalavu for a
different Tamil cinema experience; con couples are
not commonplace in Kollywood.